Thinking Generationally

Christian Family Fellowship has invested time and made a point of teaching on children and prophecy. We not only talk about children prophesying, but we also give kids a safe place to try, practice and get comfortable with the idea of themselves prophesying as a normal aspect of Christian life.

Acts 2:39 NAS, “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Children are included in the holy spirit promised by the Father. They fully participate. The kids just need to be guided into the process. Adults can learn a lot by watching the kids, and usually what is taught to the kids is equally applicable to the adults in the room. We all should pursue love and desire to prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:1). Jeremiah was one such child who learned to prophesy, and anyone who desires to prophesy or who stands in the office of a prophet can greatly learn from this child’s experience. Let’s look at what God told this child.

Jeremiah 1:4-10 NAS, “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord. Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. ‘See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.'”

For the prophet, the one prophesying and to the child, “do not be afraid of them.” The prophecy you speak with pluck up, and your words will also plant. Children and adults are similar when it comes to prophecy. We are both like hot coals, needing each other, and when held in close proximity to one another we produce heat and sustain one another’s fire. Each generation feeds on the other, and the closer we can bind the generations together in love the greater the fire of God will be sustained. This great task of binding the generations of the Church together in love requires each of us to be activated. Love is an extending of ourselves at the appropriate time. Love also includes the restraint of our will at other times. Being intentional about teaching children, getting them involved, providing a safe place for them to participate and accepting their individuality is just the start. Let us think of our lives and how we interact with the next generation as binding them close to the fire of the Holy Spirit. The love of Christ is not through constraint or with brute force. Our genuine love will draw others near to the heart of the Father.